Intuitive decision making can be a very helpful tool. With a little more attention to some things, you can benefit a lot from it.
Intuition is a term which has been used in abundance through the last few hundred years, referencing a variety of things. We’ve all heard of women’s intuition, naturally intuitive people or intuitive decision making.
So, the questions must be asked: What is this intuition thing all about? Where does it come from? And how can we use it to help better ourselves and our lives?
There is a vast spectrum of speculative theories on what intuition is. For instance, a previous article of mine talked in depth about the akashic records and the connection we all have through this.
Some people say that the concept of intuitive decision making is just a rapid calculation done unconsciously based on past experiences and subtle perceptions in our environment. This is a theory supported by the 2008 British Journal of Psychology. Another example is from a strictly religious perspective, that a Higher Power like God is influencing our lives through our gut instinct.
And that brings another thought to mind – Gut Instinct – that essentially is synonymous with Intuition in many ways, isn’t it?
Well, Judith Orloff, MD, and clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, spent a lot of time looking into this.
According to Orloff, just like the brain, there are neurotransmitters in our gut that can respond to environmental stimuli and emotions. As a result, they create an uneasiness in our stomach. Really sheds a whole new light on the term “gut instinct” when looking at it literally, doesn’t it?
How intuition manifests itself
So, as most of what I like to discuss in my articles, this is one of those “highly speculative” topics. So, let’s not focus on the cause of intuitive decision making. I’m sure we’ve all seen enough examples to have drawn our own conclusions on this and I’m not here to say which I believe to be right.
What I do want to bring up is some of the proven means and methods of getting more in touch with that intuitive perception. And I’m not going to focus on what the causality associated with it may be. First, let’s look at a few ways that intuition manifests itself:
- Goosebumps (physical ones, not the book series by R.L. Stine)
- A feeling of urgency
- Acknowledgement of patterns and numbers
- Receiving advice that came in just when you needed to hear it
- A wave of inspiration at an odd time with no real reason
Goosebumps & a sense of urgency
Goosebumps are believed to be in direct correlation with anticipation. They can probably be grouped with my second bullet point up there. Addressing that, what causes a sense of urgency?
Whether it’s our conscious mind thinking “did I leave the stove on? Will I make it to the movie on time? Am I going to finish this report before my boss comes in?” etc. or an unconscious acknowledgement of the man standing in the corner which your eye just barely picked up the shape of a handgun stashed in his belt, or even due to a sixth perceptive sense kicking in and warning you about the light fixture that’s about to fall on your head, that’s a feeling we can all relate to.
Acknowledgement of patterns and numbers
The recognition of patterns and repetitive numbers is also a big thing to notice from my list up there. Specifically, the acknowledgement of repetition in numbers, which I have discussed in depth in a different article and don’t want to go too far into, can be a psychological acknowledgement. It can be directly related to something big happening in your life and can often be a warning sign.
Even noticing patterns that you wouldn’t normally keep in your pool of perception is something to take note of. Whether it’s your unconscious mind trying to warn you about something, your conscious mind focusing on the need to find the pattern (potentially breaching insanity… or just boastful vanity), or an intuitive warning.
Advice & inspiration
The last two bullet points can also be taken together. If you receive some advice from a billboard, book, or person, chances are you’ve heard it or seen it a few times before but never really noticed it. If said advice is referencing something which is immediately relevant in your current predicament, whatever it may be, then when you notice this again it will really stand out.
In the same way, if you have a sudden epiphany and realize the solution to a problem, it’s because your mind was subconsciously toiling over probabilities, variable outcomes of situations, and causality.
The common denominator in each of these? To master the power of your intuitive decision making, pay attention. You wouldn’t notice the billboard if you hadn’t seen it. You wouldn’t unconsciously notice the man with a gun in the corner. Similarly, you wouldn’t acknowledge that your psychic ability is warning you about the light falling if you weren’t paying attention.
If you don’t keep in mind what is going on in your life as you live it, there’s a chance you’ll chalk up your goosebumps to a cold draft as your coworker walks into the office.
If you don’t acknowledge that every time you see a number it’s the specific number 23 because on July 23rd you have a really important meeting you had almost entirely forgotten about, you’ll never intuitively and magically remember and come to that conclusion.
So how do we use the power of our intuitive decision making?
A few things can help us with this. First, start training yourself to pay attention and act consciously in what you do. If you’re setting something down, pay attention to when it contacts the table surface. Don’t just drop it or slam it down without thinking about where it is.
This will help you to tune your mind more toward what is happening and how you are interacting with various things around you. You will also notice when your gut instinct kicks in or that there isn’t any wind when you suddenly got goosebumps. The other advice I have is right along the same lines as conscious interaction – grounding exercises.
Breathe slowly in through your nose then out through your mouth, more rapidly on the exhale. Do so consciously and with thought. If you notice your mind wandering or yourself being concerned with where you’ll be in an hour, or even acknowledge a bit of a detachment from your current environment, you’re likely to miss a detail or two, consciously or otherwise.
So, every time you get to this point and notice yourself slipping out of “the now”, take a moment to play some “seek and find” in your surroundings. Find something which would smell good if you were to smell it. Something you wouldn’t want to touch, and something that would have a distinct flavor if you were to lick it.
This helps to keep your mind observing where you actually are. This will allow you to pay more attention to what your intuition is trying to tell you.
Do you know any other ways to use the power of intuitive decision making? Share your knowledge in the comments below!
